We 'shall not cast them out'

I was talking to a friend recently who told me of some of his co-workers who had left our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) because they had been offended. They felt they were judged for things they had done and didn't feel as if they were welcomed any more. They don't want to come back to church because they think it will be the same when they return. I know exactly what they are talking about and we need to change it. It's the pride that we have over the claim that we belong to the only true church on Earth, the very same church that Christ Himself established nearly 2000 years ago, now restored in its fulness.

Shortly after this dicsussion I read 3 Nephi chapter 18, the chapter when Christ introduces the sacrament to the Nephites. Towards the end of the chapter, Christ tells us how we should treat the "unworthy". Specifically, He is referring to the unworthy partaking of the sacrament. The sacrament is an ordinance in which we renew our baptismal covenants, or promises to God. "Unworthy" meaning those who have not repented of their sins and/or have not been baptized and made those covenants. Christ tells us here that we "shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of [His] flesh and blood unworthily", the reason being is that we take the sacrament to renew our covenants and also to remember the sacrifice of our Savior. If we have not repented of our sins and have been spiritually cleansed through baptism, then we cannot access the redeeming powers of Christ's atonement. But then Jesus tells us that we "shall not cast them out" but that we should "minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father", and that's really what I want to talk about.

I have several friends and aquaintances that have left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because they had been offended. They said that they felt they had been judged because of things they had done, and they felt that they would be judged if they were to return. No one should ever be or feel judged in a Mormon church, but it still happens. We claim to be THE restored church of Jesus Christ, along with the same power that Christ gave His apostles anciently, and along with the fulness of the Gospel that He commissioned them to preach to all nations. I feel that often times we let those claims go to our heads, and become as the apostate Zoramites upon our Rameumptoms (Alma 31). Let us remember that we, meaning members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, are not the only children of God. Every human being that has ever lived, or ever will lived is a son or daughter of a living God, our literal Father in heaven. Just being baptized into the Mormon church doesn't guarantee that we return to live in God's presence, we must constantly be living the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is; faith, repentence, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It is also part of our baptismal covenant to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ at all times, and in order to do that, we need to act as Christ would act. We all need to forsake our pride and become humble, meek, kind, and teachable. President Ezra Taft Benson said:

"Pride is characterized by 'What do I want out of life?' rather than by 'What would God have me do with my life?' It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God....Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men."

 I invite all of us, myself included, to find the pride we still hold on to and let it go. To give our will to God. To recognize that we are no better than anyone around us. No matter what circumstances someone is in, they are and always will be a child of God. I invite those who may have been offended to also let go of their pride, and to recognize that we all make mistakes. The people of the church are definately not perfect, so I invite you to forgive them and return to worship with us.

Commandments

"I can't I'm Mormon" has become the trademark phrase of many Latter-Day Saint teenagers. Surrounded daily by things that push and pull at the standards associated with the church they attend. You my be asking yourself "Why can't they do anything? Do they ever get to have fun?" I have no idea how many times I was invited to do things where I responded with that cliche negative answer.

 What's the Point? has a Facebook page!




The world views commandments as restrictions, limiting our freedom and the right we have to make our own decisions. That view is the result of viewing life in the "now" without any regard to consequence, or what brought us here in the first place. The latter meaning our purpose in life, having in mind that God created us and is the author of this plan. I understand that not everyone that reads this post will have a belief in God, so I will try to focus a little more on the consequential aspect of our choices.
Whether you believe in God or not, we all know that we have control over our choices, or at least initially we do. We can choose our actions, the things we will and will not do. But we cannot choose the consequences. A good example would be drinking, whether underage or legally. You choose to take the first drink, and the second, and so on, but you don't choose what happens as a result of that. You can't choose what your drunk friends will draw on your face when you pass out. You can choose to drive home. But you can't choose to go back and start over after you crash. That's a morbid thought, but it's true, think of those you know that might still be alive if it weren't for drunk drivers. Those are the kinds of consequences we can't choose, but can avoid.  (I don't want to just target drinking, it's just a good example)
In reality, commandments are a way for us to continue to use our agency. It's also a way to avoid negative consequences for our actions, and a way for us to receive the blessings of God. In John 14:15 the Lord said "If ye love me, keep my commandments." So if you believe in God, then commandments are also a way to show love and obedience towards the Savior. Think about that for a second. Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world, meaning he suffered the pains of everyone that has ever lived and will ever live. He knows exactly how each of us feel, whether on the highest of mountains or in the deepest of valleys. Because He loves us, He asked that we keep His commandments, so that we don't have to suffer as much as we otherwise would. And in turn, if we keep the commandments and suffer less, then He has to suffer less.

I chose to keep the commandments for a number of reasons. I love the Savior and what He did for me personally and also the rest of the world. I know that I don't want to pay for the consequences of bad choices that could be avoided if I were living the commandments. I have felt the joy that comes from knowing that I am doing what I am supposed to. And if you don't believe that Jesus Christ died for you, or there isn't a God out there, then I invite you to live the commandments anyways to save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache. I would also invite you to seek to know if there is a God and if Jesus really did die for you. There is a lot of peace and direction that can come from a faith in God.

"Elder?" Allred

Since we have begun using Facebook as missionaries, I have often wondered what all of my "non-Mormon" friends have thought to get a Friend Request from me, with "Elder" in front of my name. I
have also wondered what they have thought when all they see me post is things about Jesus. So this blog post is to shed a little light on why all of this is the way it is.

I think that most people I went to High School with knew that I am Mormon, or at least a good chunk of them did. They probably knew that that was the reason they never saw me at parties or anything like that. But for them, the simple answer was "because he's a Mormon". Yes, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has standards that are much more strict than most other religions, such as no drinking alcohol, tea or coffee, no smoking and no illegal drugs. There are also high standards for things such as language, music and virtue. I knew all of these things, and I attended church every Sunday with my family from the time I was born, but honestly, I didn't follow these standards because I was a "converted" Mormon. I followed them because I didn't want to make my Mom sad. I am the 4th boy and by the time I was in High School she had gone through enough that I didn't want to be the reason for any more pain. I really didn't know why we were asked to follow all of these standards. Luckily I had a great group of really good friends, and we spent a ton of time together having fun and staying out of trouble. I owe those friends so much, because I now fully understand
the importance of all of those standards that at the time seemed so limiting.

Immediately after graduation, I moved to Utah to go to college. I didn't have a solid group of friends for a while and there was a huge difference in my life. Then I walked on to the Track team at USU and really quickly made another group of solid friends that kept me out of trouble. About 7 months after I left home, one of my closest friends from Helena left on his mission for our church. It was then that I decided that I also wanted to go on my mission. A mission for our church means spending 2 years in some other place giving volunteer service and teaching people the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As I started preparing for my mission, some of my track friends told me I needed to be reading the Book of Mormon daily, which I started to do. They would remind me day after day. About this time I started to do a lot of thinking, and I started to pray a lot. Two years off from school, track, and work is a major sacrifice, and I needed to know if this was what I should be doing with my life.

 

Now would be the time that I would tell you about the amazing experience that I had in receiving an answer. But that never happened. I don't ever remember feeling any sense of direction during all of this. I decided that at least I wanted to develop the skills that a mission can teach and that I would benefit in many ways from serving a mission. I received a call to serve in the Washington DC South mission, which is really only Northern Virginia, and I left in July of 2012. At the beginning of a mission a missionary goes to the MTC, or Missionary Training Center, where they learn how and what to teach, and some good study habits and things like that. It was in the MTC that I finally received an answer. We were spending up to 10 hours a day in a classroom studying, and I was wondering if I had made the right decision. I remember one night before bed, praying to know if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, and in particular praying to know if the Book of Mormon was true or not. I will never forget the feelings that I experienced that night, and I don't think I will ever be able to describe them. Along with these feelings came and overwhelming sense that I had indeed made the right decision.

18 months later I am so grateful for that experience, and the decision that I made to come on a mission. I am grateful that I had lived the way I did in High School, and now I understand the importance of those standards and why they are so high.  I have been so blessed to learn the things that I have, and to have an opportunity to help others learn them. I have learned so much about our relationship with God, and why it is important. Learning all of these things, and being able to watch the way God works through me as a missionary, and other people, has brought so much peace and joy into my life. I want everyone to feel the same way that I do, and to be as happy as I am. I have started this blog and have been posting things on Facebook in order to help others do this, and it's been great! Elder is a title that we hold for the 2 years as missionaries. There are female missionaries, they are called Sisters and they serve for 18 months. I know that this blog has been long, but it is a rather meaningful story to me, that I didn't know entailed so much until I started to write it out. I mentioned a lot of things in this blog that might lead to questions, mainly all of those standards. Feel free to message me on Facebook with any questions you have. Also, LDS.ORG and Mormon.org have all the information.
 Elder Allred's Facebook page

New Year's Resolutions

I thought that it was fitting that I write a blog about New Year's Resolutions. I have never been good at setting them, and when I actually do I haven't ever been good at following through with them. But recently I have discovered an interesting correlation between New Years and Christmas.

So first off, what's the point of New Year's Resolutions? Well, to change, to become a better person. I found this interesting, because as missionaries, we are always thinking about the Gospel. So in religious terms, positive change equals repentance. Repentence is literally a change in mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world. If we add it all up then that means that New Year's Resolutions are a way for us to repent. So I thought it is great that New Year's is a week after Christmas.

                                                                                                                                 My Facebook page

(This painting was done by
my Great Grandmother
Minerva Teichert)

If you go back and read my last blog, titled "The Greatest Gift of All" you can read my opinion about the meaning of Christ's life and how we can apply it in our own.  I think that the timing of these two holidays is not a coincedence. With the Christmas spirit that everyone seems to possess at this time of year, it appears that most people are looking to set resolutions that will help bring them closer to Christ. If that is your circumstance,  then I invite you to seek what the Lord would have you do in order to come closer to Him. I know that this post might not get to everyone who reads it before the new year, but it's not too late to turn to God. Repentence is real, let it change your life, and if you slip on one of your resolutions, or all of them, get up and try again. This life is a great time for us to learn and grow, and we WILL make mistakes, but that is where we gain our knowledge. Happy New Year's everyone!

The Greatest Gift of All

 The Greatest Gift of All

 This Holiday season is a wonderful time of year. I have been able to reflect and ponder over the many things I am grateful for. And one of the greatest ones has been my mission. There are so many things I have learned and changed on my mission. And there are so many more that I still really need to work on. But that is what is so great about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that we can change. Man can change. The whole world looks over this, and it's very apparent to me that that is the subtle craftiness that is talked about in the scriptures. Satan does not want us to change, to become better. Because really, that is our purpose in this life. And if he can blind us from that, then he has won.

 Thankfully, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." Thankfully Christ took upon Himself all of our sins, and mistakes and weaknesses and pains, so that we can have divine means of help or strength, or the grace of God. That is why we celebrate the day of His birth in such a grand fashion.

I absolutely love Christmas, without a doubt it is my favorite Holiday. The whole Holiday season is just amazing, people are so inspired to do much more good than they normally would. But I'm not going to lie and tell you that the only reason I love Christmas is because it helps me remember Jesus Christ and what He did for me. I love Christmas for so many reasons, lights, trees, foods that only show up in December, giving and receiving presents, I love it all. And to be honest, before my mission, I rarely thought about the gift that is our Savior's life.

Of course I thought about Christ, with all the nativities and Christmas songs, and the fact that it's named CHRISTmas, it's impossible not too. But I never really thought about the importance of His life. Thankfully I have had the privilege of spending the last 17 months studying the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. I have come to know why He is so important, why we celebrate His life, and why millions and millions of people have turned to Him for strength and guidance.

Jesus Christ is the only person that has ever lived a perfect life, He never once gave into the temptations that so easily lead the rest of us astray. He is the perfect example, and teacher. He showed us how to live, and how to love. And the greatest expression of His love came in the form of the Atonement, when Christ suffered for all of our sins, all of our weaknesses, all of our illness and anything else that this mortal life can throw at us. He knows perfectly how each and everyone one of us feels, even in the darkest of hours. His mortal journey gives us a purpose in life. Without it, we cannot change. 

As you go through this Christmas season, with all the gifts and decorations and food, take time to ponder on the greatest of all gifts. Christ has already paid the price, and through Him we can find strength even during the toughest of times. We can find the strength to change, to become better people. In this sense, change also means to repent, and repentance is essential to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Repentance is not a sad word, when we repent, we draw nearer to God. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, and my the Lord bless you with safety and peace as we all travel to see family or friends. And for those that may even be spending Christmas alone, spend some time with Christ, get to know him.


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Finding a purpose in life.

I really have no idea how to do this whole blog thing. Letting missionaries loose with technology is like letting animals drive. But I think that I am figuring it all out.

This blog is going to have a lot of posts that are about us, and our relationship with our Father in Heaven. This first one in particular was inspired by a picture I took from the top of a building in downtown Arlington, VA. I will try to show you all the picture, but don't be surprised if it never shows up, it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to get it from my camera to the computer.

Oh wow, that was actually easy...ok let's do this.

This is a picture of Arlington, with some of the District of Columbia in it in the distance. As I stood on the 26th floor of this building looking out over the city I thought to myself, there are probably more people currently within the screen of my camera, than in the entire state of Montana (which is where I was born and raised). For a long time I have pondered on that, why are there so many people in this area?

Arlington county is one of the smallest counties in the country. It is also one of those wealthiest. I just guessed on those so don't quote me on them, but they are somewhat accurate. But these numbers are real; in Arlington county, there are more than 8,000 people/sq mile. That is way too many people! So why are they here? Most of them are here for work, or school, or just grew up here and never left. 95 percent of the people you will meet on the street here are Type A personality people, or so it seems. The life here is so fast, the people here so busy and driven, that everyone has become blind to what life is all about. They are here to make a name for themselves, to make the big bucks. But if we take a step back, what's the point? To make money?... Why?

Life has become all about material possessions, all about reputations and who you know. But what good is all of this? How fulfilling can it be? Of course money is important, we need a way to provide for ourselves and our families. And most of these jobs play a significant role in keeping our society moving. But if we step back a little further, what is the point of keeping our society moving?

 This world is in the process of moving farther and farther from a belief and worship in God, and closer and closer to a total worship of money and power. I personally believe whole-heartedly that there is a more important reason for our life on Earth.

This Earth life is not the only life, in fact the purpose of this life is to prepare for the next. We are here to learn how to make choices for ourselves, and to learn how to love and serve one another. A proper knowledge of our relationship with God can help clear a lot of this up. We are literally the children of God. We lived with Him as Spirits before this life. He loves us and wants us to be happy, but it's our job to make the correct choices in order to return to live in His presence once again.

God has given us exactly what we need to do to return to live with him. It's called the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we all learned how to love and serve one another, this place would be awesome! Could you imagine? No contention, no hatred, no wars. This place would be paradise. Do your part, live the way God wants us all to live. It's not going to be easy, but why should it be? We can't grow without trials.

I know that this is a rather bold blog, but it is essential that everyone understands these basic truths. I know that God lives, and that He loves me. I know that He loves all His children and wants us to be happy. And He has provided a way for us to be happy, and to return to live with Him, through His Beloved Son Jesus Christ. I hope everyone that reads this can find some peace and comfort from this. Life is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured.